Box Score / (.pdf)
Season Stats
PROVIDENCE, R.I. ??? Behind a career-high 19 points from sophomore Cheri Raffo, the Boston University women???s basketball team ran its win streak to five games with a 73-59 road victory over Brown on Wednesday evening at the Pizzitola Center. Sophomore Kasey Devine tallied 11 points in addition to game highs of 10 rebounds and four steals to help BU improve to 5-1 on the year. Brown fell to 3-4.
The visitors took a 16-point lead in the middle of the first half, only to see Brown climb back into the game. The Bears got within two just before the half and took a brief lead with the first four points of the latter half, but he Terriers dominated the final 10 minutes of play to earn the victory.
Brown stayed in the game by connecting on six of its 11 3-point attempts in the first half, but the Terriers did not allow a trifecta after intermission.
Raffo nearly matched her previous career high of 17 before halftime, as she netted 15 points in the first 20 minutes of action. She went on to add totals of seven rebounds and three assists. Junior Katie Meinhardt recorded 13 points, while senior Rachael Vanderwal contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
Brown was paced by senior Sarah Hayes and junior Jaclyn Vocell, who each talled 15 points. All of Vocell???s points came in the first half. Hayes also posted nine rebounds and a game-high five assists.
BU made exactly half of its 26 attempts from the floor in the first half and went to shoot a season-high 46.6-percent showing. Brown kept pace by shooting 40 percent before the break, but it buried just 29 percent of its tries in the second half. Each team committed 16 turnovers.
Raffo scored the first five points of the game, help the Terriers connect of five of their first six shots to take an early 11-2 lead. Four quick points from the home squad cut the early lead to four, but the Terriers embarked on a 15-3 run, capped by five more points by Raffo, to take a 26-10 advantage with just over seven minutes left before the break.
The Bears made sure BU???s cushion would get no larger than 16, as they reeled off 11 consecutive points to get back in the contest at 26-21. Devine stopped Brown???s run with a successful three-point play to make it a 29-21 affair with 4:28 remaining in the half.
The next five points were scored by the Bears, getting them within three points for the first time since the second minute of play. BU took advantage of the bonus, connecting on its next five chances from the charity stripe, but the Bears continued their precision from behind the arc.
Brown scored the first six points of the second half, taking its first lead of the evening at 40-36. Raffo came up big again, however, getting the Terriers back on track with her fourth 3-pointer of the night. Down 44-42, BU strung together nine consecutive points as part of a 14-3 run, helping the Terriers regain the momentum and, furthermore, control of the game at 56-47. Points came in threes during the run, as Meinhardt, junior Erica Kovach and freshman Christine Kinneary all connected from long range, while Vanderwal completed a three-point play.
Hayes scored Brown???s next nine points to keep her team within striking distance. She followed up back-to-back steals with lay-ups on the other end to cut the deficit to four at 56-52 with 9:28 to play, but that???s as close as it would get. The Terriers responded with the next seven points and never looked back.
With just over five minutes left in regulation, the Bears had the ball and trailed by just six points, but a steal by Vanderwal kickstarted another BU run, as the visitors lit up the scoreboard with 10 straight points to put the game away and regain the 16-point lead they had established in the first half.
The BU defense allowed just three points, all from the free-throw line, in the final six minutes of regulation.
The Terriers will return to action on Saturday (Dec. 10) when they travel west to Indianapolis to face Indiana at the RCA Dome. Game time is set for 7 p.m. EST.
To purchase tickets for Terrier home games, or for more information, click here or visit the Ticket Office at 925 Commonwealth Avenue, Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., or call 617-353-GOBU (4628).
